Guiding device for trolleys.



Patented I Apr. 22,1902.

J. A. MILLER. GUIDING DEVICE FOR TROLLEYS.

(Application filed Oct. 30, 1901.)

(N0 Model.)

' UNITED STATES.

PATENT Curries.

JOHN ADDISON MILLER,

or OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

GUIDING DEVICE FORYTROLLEYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 698,305, dated April 22, 1902.

Application filed October 30, 1901. Ser ial No. 80,555. (No model- T aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN ADDISON MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Guiding Device for Trolleys, of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention relates to certain, improvements in underbearing trolleys, and has for its principal object to'provide the wheel-carrier with devices for preventing the jumping of the wheel from the wire. I A further object is to provide a finder or centering device which will enable the operator to withdraw the wheel from the wire and to more readily replace it.

With these and other objectsin view the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure'l is a side elevation of a trolley-wheel guard and finder, illustrating the parts in the position assumed when the wheel is in engagement with the current-conducting wire. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the device, illustrating the position assumed by the parts when the wheel is being'removed from or rereplaced on the wire. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device with the parts in the positions illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. A isa transverse sectional elevation of the device on theline 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective view-of one of the guard-arms detached.

Similar numerals of referenceare employed to designate correspondingjparts throughou the various figures of the drawings.

1 designates the usual trolley-pole carried by the car and acting'as a conductor orbeing provided with aninsulated conducting wire or wires to convey the current to the car-motor. At the upper'end of the pole 1 is secured a frame 2, comprising, essentially, oppositelydisposed plates 3, having integral connection at their forward ends and at their 1 rear ends being held together by transverselyand outwardly-flared arms 16.

ducting-wire 8, thewheel being normally held in contact with the Wire by the usual springsupports at the base of the trolley-pole. At points outside the-plates are guard-arms 9,

journaled on the outer ends of the shaft 6,. I the lower ends of said arms being provided with integral counterbalancing-weights 10, which serve to hold the arms in vertical position without regard to the angle assumed by the trolley-pole. At the upper ends of the arms are formed loops--11, which are bent downwardly over the outer edges of the wheel 7 and project slightly within the concaved groove of said wheel. The space between the adjacent edges of the loop is greater than the diameter of the trolley-wire, so that the lat.- ter may pass freely betweenth'em.

As the trolley-wheel is subjected to constant upward pressure, the wire willnormally remain in the lowest portion of the;

groove of the wheel when the car is traveling in a straight line; but when going around curves the wheel is pushed sidewise to some extent and the wire slides upwardly on the curved or inclined face of the groove toward the edge of the wheel. l/Vhen no guard is provided, the wire is likely to ride over the edge of the Wheel and break thecontact. With a device constructed in accordancewith'this invention any such movement of the wire will be prevented, the movement of the wire being checked by one or'other of the guards before it can reach the edge of the wheel.

In order to prevent undue oscillation of the guards, stops 14 are arranged on the side plates, the distance between such stops being sufficient in all cases to accommodate any effective angular position of the trolley-pole.

On the pin 45 is fulcrumed a forked or bif urcated arm 15, having rearwardly-extended At the point of bifurcation the arms are separated for a distance a trifle greater than the diameter of the trolley-wire, and the center of the space between the arms is coincident with the center of the wheel-groove. The forward end of the arm 15 is provided with a link17, which may be attached to the upper end of the usual pulling cord or rope, by which the pole is manipulated. The limit of oscillatory movement of the arm15 is governedby the pin 5. The lower portion of the arm rests on the pin 5 during the time the trolley-wheel is in engagement with the wire and the car is traveling. In removing or replacing the trolley- Wheel a curved finger or lug 19 comes into contact with the under surface of the pin 5 about the time the forked arm has assumed a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 2.

To remove the trolley-wheel from the wire, the operator pulls on the cord attached to the link 17 and moves the forked arm to the upright position, the wire being forced into the narrowest portion of the space between said. arms, so that the wire will be in alinement with the center of the trolley-wheel. A further pulling strain will remove the wheel from contact with the wire, the' latter passing between the guards without coming in contact therewith.

To replace the trolley-wheel, the operatingcord is slackened and the arm is allowed to rise gradually until one of the flared ends of the forked arms is on each side of the wire, when the arms will guide the upper frame and arm to such position that the center of the wheel will be immediately below the wire and the two can be brought into contact by such further slackening of the cord as may be necessary, the forked arms dropping to the substantially horizontal position illustrated in Fig. 1 and resting on the pin 5 until the next operation of the cord.

While the construction herein described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, presents the device in its preferred form, it is obvious that many changes in the form, proportions, and minor details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isi 1. In a device of the class specified, asnpportingf1'ame,a trolley-wheel carried thereby, guards fulcrumed on the axis of the trolleywheel and having upwardly-projecting loops extending over the edges of the wheel, said loops being spaced for a distance sulficient to permit of the free movement of the conducting-wire between them, and counterbalancing-weights secured to or formed integral with said guards at a point below their pivotal axis.

2. In a device of the class specified, the

eeaeos combination of the oppositely-disposed and connected side plates, a shaft or axis mounted therein, a trolley-wheel journaled on said shaft, guards pivoted on said shaft and having upwardly-extended looped portions projecting over and inwardly beyond the rim of the wheel and serving to prevent the wire from riding up over the rim of said wheel, and counterbalancirig-weights secured to or formed integral with said guards at points below the shaft or axis, substantially as specified.

3. In a device of the class specified, the combination of the oppositely-disposed and connected side plates, a shaft or axis mounted therein, a trolley-wheel journaled on said shaft at a point between the side plates, guards mounted on said shaft ata point outside the plates, said guards having upwardly extending looped portions projecting over the edges of the trolley-wheel and spaced for a distance greater than the diameter of the trolley-wire, stops formed on said side plates for limiting the oscillating movement of the guards, and depending counterbalancing- Weights secured to or formed integral with said guards at points below the shaft or axis, substantially as specified.

4. In a device of the class specified, a frame comprising oppositely-disposed and connected plates, a shaft carried thereby, a grooved trolley-wheel journaled on said shaft, guards pivoted on the shaft at points outside the plates, said guards having upwardly-extended looped portions projecting over the edges of the trolley-wheel and spaced for a distance greater than the diameter of the trolley-wire,

a bifurcated arm pivoted between the plates at a point at the rear of the trolley-wheel, a depending lug or finger on said guard or fork, and a stop-pin adapted to support the bifurcated arm in one position and to form a stop for engagement with said lug or finger when the arm is in the opposite position, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN ADDISON MILLER.

Witnesses:

WM. 13. TEN EYCK, II. A. Mvnas. 

